Workless households

16% of working-age households are workless. This is the same
proportion as a decade ago.

43% of lone parent households - and 31% of single adults without dependent children - are workless.
This compares with 6% of couples without dependent children and 6% of couples
with children. In other words, single adult households - both with and
without children - are much more likely to be workless than couple households.

More than half of all workless, working-age households are single
adults without dependent children. A further fifth are lone parents.

The statistics above illustrate why lack of work can be even more serious
for a single adult household than for a couple: if a single adult is
workless, then (by definition) the whole of the household is workless and
there is no earned income; by contrast, for a couple, the spouse may be
working, perhaps with substantial earnings.

The UK has a higher proportion of its working-age
population living in workless households than most other EU countries, all
bar Ireland, Lithuania, Hungary, Belgium, Estonia and Bulgaria.

The impact of an individual's worklessness depends on the
economic status of the other adults in the household. Clearly, the
situation is most serious if there is no adult in the household with any paid
work.

For each of a number of working-age household types, the first graph
shows the proportion of the households who are workless (i.e. households where
none of the adults are working). The four household types shown are lone
parent households, single adults without dependent children, households with
two or more adults but no dependent children, and households with two or more
adults and one or more dependent children.

The second graph shows the proportion of all workless, working-age households who are in each household type. To improve its
statistical reliability, the data is the average for the latest three years.

The data source for the first two graphs is the
Labour Force
Survey (LFS) and relates to the United Kingdom. The data for each year
is the average for the 2nd and 4th quarters, analysis by household type not
being available for the 1st and 3rd quarters.

In both graphs, a working-age
household is one in which at least one of the people is aged 16 to 59/64.
Households which are entirely composed of full-time students have been excluded
from the analysis, as have households where their economic status is not known.

In both
graphs, full-time students have been excluded from the calculations to
decide whether the household has one or more than one adult. So, for
example, a household comprising one full-time student and one other working-age
adult has been allocated to the 'one adult' household type. In line with
ONS methods, children comprise all those under the age of 16 (i.e. not including
people aged 16 to 18 in full-time education).

The third graph shows the proportion of adults
aged 18 to 59 in
each EU country who live in workless households. Note that that this data
excludes students aged 18 -24 who live in households composed solely of students
of the same age class.

The data source for the third graph is the
Eurostat indicators website, which in turn draws its data
from the Labour Force Surveys in each country. Note that there is no data available for Sweden.

Overall adequacy of the indicator: high. The LFS is a
well-established, quarterly government survey designed to be representative of
the population as a whole.

Overall aim: Maximise employment opportunity for all.

Lead department

Department for Work and Pensions.

Official national targets

None.

Other indicators of progress

Overall employment rate taking account of the economic cycle.

Narrow the gap between the employment rates of the following
disadvantaged groups and the overall rate: disabled people; lone
parents; ethnic minorities; people aged 50 and over; those with no
qualifications; and those living in the most deprived Local Authority wards.

Number of people on working age out-of-work benefits.

Amount of time people spend on out-of-work benefits.

Previous 2004 targets

As part of the wider objective of full employment in every region, over
the three years to Spring 2008, and taking account of the economic
cycle, demonstrate progress on increasing the employment rate.

As part of the wider objective of full employment in every region, over the three
years to Spring 2008, and taking account of the economic cycle:

increase the employment rates of disadvantaged groups (lone
parents, ethnic minorities, people aged 50 and over, those with the
lowest qualifications, and those living in local authority wards with
the poorest initial labour market position); and

significantly reduce the difference between the employment
rates of the disadvantaged groups and the overall rate.